Consolidation destroyed what was once a great city. The rich supporting the poor is the result of that consolidation. There is New York and then there is the outer boros. "Liberatate Neuova Yorka" or something like that. Also bring back the Giants and tear down the public housing and build a new Polo Grounds on it's original site.

Snoopy, I actually had work to do and don't spend most of my waking hours commenting on Gothamist.

That said, has any mayor of NYC been in office during such a period of prosperity (particularly for the moneyed elite in the financial sector) as Giuliani and Bloomberg? I think not. Even if you take a mayor from the post-WWII area (unfortunately, Tammany Hall was still very influential then), the gains were a little more distributed and in fact, helped the suburbs as people moved from urban areas - aided in no small part by Detroit and Corbusier-influenced builders like Moses.

What I'm saying is that while Bloomberg has done some great things, he's also been a magnificent beneficiary of an economic boom that was largely out of his control.

Also, I would count Van Wyck as the first "Mayor of NYC" since he was the first elected post-Consolidation, although I see your point on Mayor Duane.

Maybe we should elect a scientist/brainiac so we can have flying taxis in the next few years.

He wore a white shirt last year, one think he looks like Monte Burns if he took that shirt off.

We don't need another rich person running the City.

I can't believe someone thought Fernando Ferrer had a chance.

Yes. Bloomy should have shown us some manboob.

I'm glad the NYT published this article. It gives people something to think about. The city doesn't need another rich CEO type as mayor. Sorry.

thankfully Pb is still cheap

unless he's going to tax it but who cares, we'll just buy it in a friendly State.

Molon Labe.

And BTW, when people start gushing about the intent of "the founding Fathers" I want to barf.

I will be glad to see him out of office. And yeah, the rich clucks how made out like bandits during his tenure are wondering who else they can put in office to keep the money flowing towards them. Thieves one and all.

Bloomberg is a fascist money drone. I can't believe you people want another one of him.

I think having people from the real world and not career politicians is a good idea. We would probably be better off and closer to the founding fathers original intent to have someone come from a real job, do their service and return instead of having Sheldon Silver or Joe Bruno syndrome.

I'm not a huge Bloomberg fan but compared to the half-baked marxists the democrats usually run, he looks like General Patton by comparison.

That Jewish boy has bouyancy. Some people say that blacks don't. Was it Nick the Greek that said it?

Stop stammering!

"Everything is not always fit into the nice buckets of "excellent" and "awful" as some commentators here would suggest."

Could you name three mayors of NYC that made the city better, going back to James Duane who was the first mayor of free New York City?

It's possible that Bloomberg has done some good things for the city and some bad things for the city. It's also possible that former mayors have benefited (or suffered) from broader economic circumstances, causing their terms to be perceived as more effective (or ineffective) than they actually were.

Everything is not always fit into the nice buckets of "excellent" and "awful" as some commentators here would suggest.

Dinkens in 2012! or when ever.

He did so much for New York. If re-elected he would put an addition on to the tennis stadium. That's the kind of progressive thinking New York needs.

let's start churning out those "hands" ads and welfare queen ads and the paying for coke with foodstamp ads.

Yeah, let's get another Bloomberg situation so we can have more f**ked up zoning tha caters to developers and have more beautiful glass and steel out of scale luxury condos. Disgusting and boring.

Hopefully, we'll get someone like him, that's not afraid to do what he feels is right. The best thing about both Rudy and Mike is they came into office without a lot of baggage. They weren't supposed to win, so the Democrat machine in NYC couldn't dictate the jobs and the spending as much as they would have liked to. They both did commendable jobs. The streets are cleaner and safer. The schools are much more productive. The best tip off, if the city was failing, would be college graduates not flocking here and the rents tanking. The kids keep on coming and the real estate keeps getting more expensive.